March 27, 2014

Fred Phelps, founding pastor of Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka, Kan., died March 19 at age 84.

Known around the world for anti-gay protests by the small independent church Phelps started in 1955, reports recently surfaced that Phelps was voted out of membership after calling for a kinder approach among church members as a male board of elders defeated his daughter, Shirley, in a power struggle.

The church’s notoriety grew for its “God Hates Fags” anti-gay slogan at public protests. The congregation, comprised almost entirely of Phelps’ extended family, claims to have engaged in 52,335 pickets in 922 cities.